Field Hockey

Field Hockey Defeats Framingham State in Shootout, 2-1

NORTH DARTMOUTH, MA-Freshman forward Eleanor Taylor (Fairhaven, MA/Bishop Stang HS) came off the bench to score the game-winning goal in a penalty stroke shootout and senior goalkeeper Seana Golden (Somerset, MA/Bishop Stang HS) allowed only two goals in five stroke attempts to lift the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's field hockey team to a 2-1 penalty stroke victory over visiting Framingham State in a Little East Conference match at Cressy Field Sunday.

Taylor, who was injured in the Corsairs' previous game and hadn't played, then deposited her shot perfectly in the corner of the net, and Golden followed up by stopping a shot by senior defender Jade Franzen (Mansfield, MA/Mansfield HS). The final shots for each team missed, giving UMD the victory and putting the Corsairs into undisputed possession of first place in the LEC with a week left in the regular season.

"We have six players who practice strokes every day, and I'm comfortable with using all of them," said UMass Dartmouth Head Coach Nicole Castonguay. "Seana played a great game; she's really a big time player. We play well against the better teams that we play against, and Framingham is a very good team that plays the game the right way."

Framingham State took an early lead when junior forward Kristen Sacco (Mendon, MA/Nipmuc HS) fired home a rebound after a penalty corner at the 13:02 mark. The Rams thought they had a 2-0 lead 3:47 later when freshman defender Kelly German (Sandwich, MA/Sandwich HS) appeared to have scored, but the goal was waved off after a violation. When the match was restarted, a long pass downfield was deflected onto the stick of UMD junior forward Natalie Brown (Falmouth, MA/Falmouth HS/St. Michael's), and she fed Allan for the tying goal at the 17:05 mark.

Both teams had good chances to score. In the second overtime, shots by Kinchla and Allan just trickle wide of the net, while Golden came up with a save on a hard shot by Fisher late in the second extra period. The Corsairs were awarded a penalty corner as time expired in the second overtime, but they couldn't get a shot on goal before the play was sent back up field, ending the period.

Golden and UMD's other seniors, defenders Danielle Nelson (East Brookfield, MA/David Prouty HS) and Laurie David (Yarmouthport, MA/Dennis-Yarmouth HS) and midfielder Kylie Treat (Hampstead, NH/Pinkerton Academy) were honored prior to the game. The Corsairs also wore pink uniforms in recognition of their support for Play 4 the Cure.

Each team had 15 shots. Golden made 10 saves for UMD, while Kenyon made eight stops for FSC.

UMass Dartmouth improved to 11-5 and 9-1 in the LEC with the victory, while Framingham State dropped to 12-3 and 8-2 with the defeat. The Corsairs will return to action when they host Salve Regina Wednesday evening. The Rams will visit Lasell Wednesday.